When a young couple finds their love tested to the limits and whispers of infidelity grow louder, their delicate balance between love and career begins to crumble, forcing them to question whether they’re truly meant to be together.

This is a British drama, filmed in Iceland, with a mixture of English and Icelandic performers.

From her name, you might guess that Elin Hall is part of the British contingent, but her birth name is Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir, and she is a pop-folk singer in Iceland. (Home page)

I haven’t listened to her songs, but as you can see, she is easy on the eyes.

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New Australian film. All comments, collages and film clips from Johnny Moronic.

Johnny’s summary:

Beauty From Pain is a romantic drama where an American woman Laurelyn (Samantha Allsop) arrives in Australia with her best friend Addison (Arielle Cartwright) for an extended holiday. Laurelyn is a wannabe singer and when she plays a song at a bar, she is spotted by a mysterious man, Jack Henry (Jackson Gallagher), who pursues her and makes her an offer: he wants to be with her for the three months, while she’s in Australia, then they’ll both go their own way. Laurelyn is reluctant at first but Jack Henry woos her and she comes around. Jack Henry is an entrepreneur who owns a winery which is being sabotaged by a vengeful ex, Audrey (Brittany Grey), who tries to sabotage his fling with Laurelyn. Laurelyn also has her issues as her mother wants her to meet her absent father. Also, a previous fling still wants to be with her. Things go well for the most part and end up going too well as the emotionless Jack Henry starts to fall for Laurelyn, something he did not expect to do – but is it too late to win her heart before she leaves?

Johnny’s review:

Typically overwrought romantic drama, perfect for Passionflix with a fair smattering of tame sexy stuff and ends in a way that suggests they’ll be more in the future. The story is fairly rote and after an initial set-up all other characters are given the short-shrift. Pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a movie like this.

Johnny’s videos are here

The Creep Tapes is an American found footage horror television series.

I think this is the season two finale, and the only nudity that I know of, but don’t take my observation as gospel. I don’t watch this series, and I would not have known about this scene except that Mr. Skin mentioned it.

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Katie didn’t get naked in many films, but when she did, at least she did it properly. She and Lake Bell ran through the woods naked for something like nine minutes in Black Rock (2012). It was night, but you could still see some details.

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Full gallery and more Canalis nudity

We give a tip of the hat to humanity’s most important inventor, the unsung hero, Francoise Balcon, whose balconies gave birth to celebrity nudity in the era before films. While Balcon labored over his designs, a close friend, Louis Daguerre. was busy perfecting photography. The two men worked in perfect lock-step to give us the paparazzi photography we know today. Many say that the invention of the camera would have been almost useless without the parallel developments in balcony technology.

And we can’t fail to credit Jakob “The Lost Dutchman” Yacht for his own contribution, creating sailing craft relatively useless for either transportation or commerce, but extremely useful for displaying topless supermodels moored close enough to be photographed by slobs standing on public beaches.

Of course we all know that Ariana Grande is a brilliant singer and impersonator, but I don’t think anybody suspected that James Austin Johnson could sound so much like Bocelli.

It wasn’t really a parody, but a legitimate duet.

I think there was a time when it surprised me to see Brooks basically topless in public. Now, however, it’s her signature move.

Spanish thriller.

Madrid, 1968. The life of Daniel changes when he’s invited to East Berlin to meet his biological mother. Under KGB threat, his twin brother Klaus steals his identity. When Klaus returns to Spain, Daniel’s wife Sofía starts to suspect.

Starts?

Silly premise. I’m guessing she would probably be suspicious within five minutes, and would know as an absolute certainty within 24 hours. The twin brother doesn’t have a memory implant, and there are so many things between a couple that are familiar only to them.

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French drams. Original title: L’épreuve du feu.

IMDb: 7.3

19-year-old Hugo visits his family’s island house every summer. But this year is different: he’s physically changed and brings Queen, his flashy beautician girlfriend, whose wit and sparkly nails contrast with his shy nature.

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This movie was based on a one-act play, David Mamet’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” as expanded into a full-length screenplay by former SNL cast member Tim Kazurinsky. At its essence, it remained essentially a four-character play about the rise and fall of a relationship, and the effect of that relationship upon the couple’s best friends. The friends were essentially jealous, not because the couple found a love missing in the friends’ life, but because the obsessive nature of that new love totally dominated the lovers’ time, leaving the friends feeling that they had lost the people closest to them.

Demi Moore was absolutely radiant in the romantic lead. Demi was seen here before she began all of the fanatical fitness routines and plastic surgery, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that she was almost perfect before the changes. Her beautiful face, her raspy voice, and her femininity made her a true star. The performances in romantic comedies don’t earn much respect from the Academy, but not everybody does them well, and Demi did this one very well, indeed.

Chicago itself is an important character in the film. If you love and miss old-time ChiTown, as I do, you’ll just love all the sights and sounds of the city: the familiar neighborhood watering holes; the gloveless softball games with the unique giant ball; the familiar accents; the approaching trains barely visible in the snow.

And no person is more perfectly representative of Chicago than Jim Belushi, who played a coarse, politically incorrect, life-embracing party animal. Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins stole the show as the cynical, wisecracking friends.

Overall, I found the film a pleasant way to pass the time.

Tomato Meter: 65%
Popcorn Meter: 60%
IMDb: 6.2

TRIVIA: The movie title was originally supposed to be Sexual Perversity in Chicago, like the play, but the three major TV networks wouldn’t accept the trailer ads for the film, so a last minute title change resulted in “About Last Night … ”

TRIVIA: This movie was remade and updated about 30 years later, with a twist: the four leads were Black. I have not seen the remake.

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